[Drewbacca]

So I've recently been afforded the opportunity to purchase a new handgun. I currently own a Star BM 9mm, which is a complete piece of junk. I can barely empty a magazine without a jam.

Anyway, I've been researching handguns within my price range that are reliable and trustworthy. So far I'm down to a new Taurus PT145, and a used Sig P225.

I personally know two people who are Sig armorers. One suggests that I buy the Sig, and the other suggests that either gun will be sufficient for self defense. I've spoken to a few people who swear up and down about Sigs, and completely hate anything made by Taurus. While I listen to their opinion, most of the time it seems quite biased. I think these fellas' are speaking against the Taurus of old...not the Taurus of the 21st century.

So, a new gun with a lifetime warranty in .45ACP, or a 9mm made in the 80's with no warranty...both for $350 each. Chances are this gun will be a future daily carry piece, so please keep that in mind.

Any opinions or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!

-Drew

 

[Qwiks draw]

As far as the Star pistol goes, replacing recoil springs and other minor parts may be in store. Pardon the pun. www.e-gunparts.com or www.brownells. com can help you there and make the gun a shooter again if you want. Many Star owners , who are surplus gun shooters almost exclusively, have had decent service from them. This is highly documented.

As for the PT145 or the SIG goes there are a number of things to consider.

Which gun fits you and your needs? We can make recommendations, but you are the user. How does the gun fit for grip, function, and indexing on target for you?

What are your criterea for the gun? CCW carry, competition, house gun, or other missions need to be looked at. You do not say which.

SIGs as used guns have decent track records. Do realize however that even though these are arsenal refinished guns, certain parts may need to be replaced. Magazines, magazine springs, recoil springs, magazine release springs, and other parts may need replacing regardless of what the factory has done to refurbish the pistol.

This has been documented in American Handgunner and Gun Tests magazine as something to consider. New owners have had to make parts changes for pistol function to be maintained. Not all owners, just some. Not many parts or expensive ones, but it was needed.

Just for the record ,I do not have a PT145, but do have it's related cousin, the PT111.

Taurus won three prestigous awards in 2005 that many choose to ignore. As follows: Shooting Industry Manufacturer of the Year, National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers Manufacturer of the Year, and SHOT Business Manufacturer of the Year.

These are given out only to companies that put out excellent products overall in the gun industry. So Taurus is doing things well despite " Conventional Wisdom" to the contrary.

There have been awards by the NRA for the 24/7 model as well. This is a relative of the PT145.

We have many satisfied owners here with the PT145. It fits there needs.

There have been some problems with the PT145. Minor problems for the most part that were easily fixed by the owners or operators needing to get used to the characteristics of the gun have been the main sources.

Some pistols did need to go back to the factory. This happens with any make or model the industry as a whole puts out.

If you read recent and archive threads in the Taurus semi-auto board you will find the majority of owners are contented ones. Other boards have good things to say as well.

I will let the PT145 owners chime in at this point.

However this boils down to what you want and need. The PT145 is used primarily as a CCW carry piece with secondary traits for other purposes.

SIGs are fine guns in their own right, but may be tad harder to hide for CCW carry.

The 24/7 might be worth a gander as well as the PT145.

I can honestly say that the Taurus pistols (2 to be exact) and 5 revolvers have given excellent service and have never had to be fixed. Longevity is the byword here.

 

[Tyoung]

I would really take the time to fondle both and see what fits best. I would say get the Sig it wasn't so old. You have no idea of it's past. I have the PT145 and really like it. IMO between the two get the PT145.

 

[DRAEGER]

Funny you should mention the STAR BM... I happen to have one Mine is nearly flawless (well it does have an occasional fart or two), but really I have had very good luck with mine and I paid $100.00 for it nearly 20 years ago.

I'll have to dig up a pick of it, use to have on in 38super too, but it has long since died. Had a squib and packed in 2 more rounds behind it before slide locked up.

Now back to your question, get the PT145 or a 24/7 if you want something a tad bigger. Not that I don't like Sig's just like Taurus better

 

[Drewbacca]

I appreciate the quick responses everyone! I bought the Star several years ago after my house was burglarized while I was sleeping with my fiance. I hadn't been shooting since I was 15 (I'm 24 now), so it was pretty much an impulse buy. I threw down $200 for it, so it's not like I'm out a huge amount of money. I just recently bought a new pump shotgun, so I'm going to give the Star to a friend of mine and hopefully he can figure out what exactly is causing the jamming/FTFeed.

Back to the subject at hand. I went to Gander Mtn. the other day and held both pistols in my hand. I'm a big guy with a big meaty hand, and both guns fit perfectly. Which kind of surprised me, because I couldn't get a good picture of the PT145 to determine it's size. The P225 is only a slight bit longer than the PT145, but other than that they're REALLY close to being equal in size.

I'm still on the fence about whether or not I want to get my CCW license, I live in Ohio by the way. So I'd like to have a pistol that I can use for that if/when the time comes.

I guess I could always buy the PT145 now, and get a brand new Sig later on down the line. The lifetime warranty is almost impossible to pass up.

 

[NativeTexan]

I've seen those Sigs at several catalog sales for cheap (as Sigs go) and I'd like to have one just because it's a Sig. But, truth of it, I'd rather have a new PT145 for carry. JMHO of course.

 

[mikemck]

Have owned a Sig 225 a long time ago, and while Sigs are very nice, they just don't do much for me personally.
Loved the Sig Pro I had, but the rest I could take or leave.

Absolutely nothing wrong with Sigs, but I think it's pretty hard to beat the Taurus transferable lifetime warranty.

 

[Cimarron]

Before you give up on your Star BM... let me give you some incentive... they clean up really nice!

Remember the Star used the 1911 design with the dual ramp system... part on the frame and part on the barrel... polish both and smooth the bevels between the two... also check the extractor... they can get gummed up or even need to be replaced!

Once you get one tuned up... they are a real joy to shoot... and a trigger to die for on any other gun!

 

[Drewbacca]

Holy hell that gun is a beauty....mine looks absolutely NOTHING like that. You can tell mine was carried by a Spanish officer who didn't give two poops about his sidearm. There's tons of holster wear, the ribs on the grips have dents, the sides of the trigger looked like they were at one time cleaned with an icepick. It's in real bad shape. My step-father says I could probably get $100 for a trade-in if I'm going to buy a firearm from the place that buys it. So I'm probably going to try and get that knocked off a new PT145. Let me see if I can get some pictures up of my Star.

 

[Drewbacca]

Ah, some pictures taken with my horribly ancient digital camera....I think my cell phone takes better pictures. I'll be replacing this 2 megapixel paperweight with a nice 10.2mp....mmmm....quality.

 

[Cimarron]

Well, here is the original condition of my gun...

Not a thing of beauty either, but it was a good reliable shooter. The design for these guns is super simple. The biggest problem is either finding magazines that feed correctly, or modifying your mag to make them work.

The transformation was pretty straight forward.
1. I totally disassembled the frame but left the slide pretty much intact
2. I stripped all of the blue with naval jelly and used emery cloth to polish light dents... because the gun is good steel, there were no bad marks
3. I used a dremel tool with felt drums and Mother's Aluminum wheel polish to bring the barrel, slide release pin and safety to a bright polish... then fine emery on the trigger and hammer with the felt drums to get the polish I wanted.
4. I sprayed the frame and slide with Duracoat in the H&K black... not quite a matte black, but pretty close.
5. Reassembled and bought a set of Cocobolo grips to set it off.

I did the same treatment for a guy in a Pawn Shop to showcase what I could do... he put a price of $450 on his gun... granted that's Pawn shop mark-up... but I'd put a price of $250-300 on these guns.

There is nothing that a little dilligent discovery won't yield for any guy with determination. After 2-3 of these you even figure out how to deal with the trigger and hammer without resorting to long diligent prayer times (the alternative to colorful language for those of us who are of the cloth).

 

[Drewbacca]

Do you remember how much the materials cost? I already have a dremel!

 

[Cimarron]

My kids bought the duracoat "kit" which was about $50. The rest is pocket change. By the way, I picked up these grips from

http://www.gungripguys.com/Star/Index.htm

The were a set of bookend grips... same pattern on each side. I think I paid $24 or so.

If you try this, let me know, I can walk you through getting the hammer and trigger out... you can't spray these two items... they will only gum up and look bad. Much better to turn them bright.

 

[Drewbacca]

I'm so weary of messing with phosphoric acid, haha.

 

[Taurus_9mm]

I don't believe I've ever even peered in on this thread until now. Job well done Cimmarron!

 

[SgtKnuckles]

Ya, it cleaned up real nice...<)